Egypt investigates killing of student by police after public backlash

In this November 25, 2013 photo provided by a friend of Islam Ateto, engineering student Islam Ateto holds a sign protesting the arrest of fellow students at Ain Shams University, in Cairo, Egypt. Egyptian authorities are investigating the killing of Ateto by police, a judicial official said Tuesday, May 26, 2015, the latest in series of cases alleging brutality by security forces. The death of Ateto on May 19, has become a major topic on Egyptian television talk shows and in newspapers in recent days, as his family and colleagues say he was last seen alive in class taking an exam. Security officials, meanwhile, have insisted Ateto was an Islamic militant belonging to the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group and was wanted over the killing of a police officer last month. (Photo courtesy of a friend of Islam Ateto, via AP) (The Associated Press)

A Thursday, May 21, 2015 photo, provided by a friend of Islam Ateto, shows the body of engineering student Islam Ateto, 19, in Zenhoum morgue, in Cairo, Egypt. Egyptian authorities are investigating the killing of Ateto by police, a judicial official said Tuesday, May 26, 2015, the latest in series of cases alleging brutality by security forces. The death of Ateto on May 19, has become a major topic on Egyptian television talk shows and in newspapers in recent days, as his family and colleagues say he was last seen alive in class taking an exam. Security officials, meanwhile, have insisted Ateto was an Islamic militant belonging to the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group and was wanted over the killing of a police officer last month. (Courtesy of a friend of Islam Ateto, via AP) (The Associated Press)

CAIRO – An Egyptian judicial official says authorities are investigating the killing of a university student by police.

The official, who insisted on anonymity because he was not authorized to brief reporters, said Tuesday that a Cairo prosecutor summoned police officers to question them over last week's killing of engineering student Islam Ateto.

The Interior Ministry says Ateto was wanted in connection with the assassination of a police officer and was killed in a gunbattle with police.

The student union says police escorted Ateto from a classroom where he was taking a final exam to an undisclosed location, where he was killed.

Egypt's police have faced widespread allegations of brutality in recent months. Four policemen have been prosecuted in the past two days on charges of sexually assaulting and fatally beating detainees.